Chapter 8 - The Truth That Destroyed The Marriage
The word echoed through the room.
No.
One word.
But it destroyed everything Ethan believed.
He stepped backward.
Victoria’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ethan…”
“Don’t.”
His voice was broken.
“Don’t pretend this hurts you more than me.”
Victoria lowered her head.
“I was afraid.”
“Afraid?”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“You let me raise another man’s child without knowing.”
“He is not just another man’s child.”
Victoria looked toward Leo.
“He is my son.”
Ethan looked at the little boy sleeping peacefully.
And his anger softened.
Because Leo was innocent.
All of this.
Every lie.
Every secret.
Was never his fault.
“Who is Adrian Cross?”
Victoria stayed silent.
“Answer me.”
“He was my fiancé.”
Ethan’s eyes widened.
“Before me?”
She nodded.
“He disappeared after I became pregnant.”
“And you replaced him with me.”
Victoria started crying.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Ethan’s voice became cold.
“You needed someone powerful.”
“Someone who could give Leo a name.”
“A family.”
Victoria looked at him.
“You loved him.”
Ethan looked at Leo.
“Yes.”
“And that is why I stayed.”
Her tears stopped.
Because she realized something.
Ethan was not staying for her.
He was staying for Leo.
Then Ethan asked the question she feared most.
“Where is Adrian now?”
Victoria looked away.
“I don’t know.”
But Ethan noticed.
A hesitation.
A lie.
His phone suddenly received a message.
Unknown number.
A photo appeared.
Adrian Cross standing outside the mansion.
Taken that morning.
Underneath the picture was one sentence.
“I never abandoned my son. Victoria did.”
Ethan looked toward the window.
May you like
Someone had been watching them.
And that person was coming back.
